I love him but he has been horrible during this stretch. Amazing we won two games the way he shot the ball and played. He needs to bring it this week. He has to finish around the basket. His screen role defense was terrible in the first half Saturday. Terrible to the point where Archie finally made him stay at home in the 2nd half. We actually went on a big run when he was on the bench.
Juwan, it's time!/Screen role defense
- Thread starter Tegray1
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I really think he needs to be challenged by CAM to step up. It shouldn't be lost on him that our last 3 wins are with very little contribution from him. @ MSU he was out w injury right, and didn't have g games at either WI or MSU. I like him and he seems like a good young man, but I can't help but wonder what part he's played in our downturn. Maybe it's no more than not being a vocal leader, but I do feel like we could be a really good team with effort from everyone, smarter play and Morgan leading our guys. Next year I could see Durham and Phinisee taking on more leadership, but for this year, if this team is going to have a leader, it almost has to be Morgan.
To say he is not producing is to ignore the help he brings to IU by rebounding the ball.
The other day a poster here speculated that JM has an upper-body injury (shoulder area) that is forcing him to play partially one-handed. If this is accurate, then he is probably playing as hard as ever but without the same results, we expect to see.
I don't think it is. I think it's fair to question what's up, and why the team, over the last 14 games has had the best outcomes during some of his least productive games. This skid has been pretty historic in nature and I'll admit it's left me questioning of CAM's abilities, so I think it's also fair to try and understand why it's happened, and push the team to make one last gasp effort at making the NCAA. It could also be easily explained that CAM wants Juwan to succeed at the next level and to try and have a positive conclusion to a very bad season that I think has undoubtedly hurt his NBA aspirations.
His rebounding has been huge. Morgan is playing very hard - it's harder to score inside when your team is generally awful shooting from outside.
This reminds me a lot of Keith Smart's senior year after the "shot" He struggled during the season when Jay Edwards was playing the 2 guard. Juwan doesn't look hurt. He isn't protecting one arm. He is rebounding but he is a senior and we need a lot more from him than rebounding. Deron Davis has played with more fire and been more of a leader lately than Juwan. Hopefully Davis is healthy Thursday because we will need him.
I agree it has been, but explain then for me the swoon and why the only 3 games we've won in the last 14 have been some of his poorer games? That doesn't make you at all curious? You think he's done a good job as a senior leader on this team? I'm not saying he has or hasn't, and I don't think it's fair to pile blame on any 1 person (and that would mostly be CAM as head coach anyway), but I do think these are pretty legit questions, and I sure don't have the answers to them.
I think when your best guy is out other players often step it up. I do think he's been a leader on the team.
Question: Is Juwan supposed to hedge the screen or is the player on the ball supposed to go over it? Does it change depending which player has the ball and what their skill set is, or which player is setting the screen and what their skill set is?
Did the staff inform you how they are attacking the PnR in different situations, or are you just guessing?
Also, you talk about him scoring. Do you think that other teams are coming up with defensive strategies and tactics to keep from from doing just that and maybe they are doing it well, and that maybe just maybe we're seeing other guys get baskets because they're overplaying Juwan and it's giving them more opportunities?
You know something like dropping Smith's defender into the paint where Juwan likes to get the ball and leaving Smith wide open for threes or something like that..Or are you one of those people who believe opposing players have no will of their own and are not allowed to move.
He had 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 1 TO and a key and one in a win against one of the best teams in the country and you're still complaining ..
smdh ..
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Please try to watch the game. he was playing up on Winston and forcing the pass in the first half he did not recover quick enough to his man which led to layups and dunks many of them. He was not connected very well with the other players. He stayed on Winston far too long and didn't recover to his man. In the second half it was clear that he was told to stay back to the rim. He did not challenge Winston at all when he drove which is why Winston scored more points in the second half because he shut off the passing Lane and Rob had to recover on defense after the screen. I know he's getting double-teamed but he still is making a move and getting an open shot and not finishing. His shooting percentage in the last three or four games has been terrible. He played decent against Iowa but the other three games he did not play well at all.
I went back and looked at his numbers over the past 7 games (I thought he has played pretty good, besides his shot selection) and he has been far from horrible. He has averaged roughly: 10 pts, 10 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 2 blk during the 7 games. He had one game where he had 6 blocks and 4 steals. It's one of the most disruptive games, on the defense, all year.
His issue has been poor shooting, more specifically, 3 point shooting. He went 2-21 for 5 of the games. He needs to quit shooting 3's and get down on the block where he is effective. Archie needs to make more of an effort to run plays through him, on the block, and sit him down when he starts chucking 3s.
as tmp said, he is being hard doubled now immediately, whereas earlier it did not always come right away. we just don't have enough scoring threats to stop that defensive strategy from happening. he has also drawn bigger defenders which hampers him too. i think he often looks tired and frustrated, especially during the last half of the team's long losing streak. as if he was looking for somebody, anybody to help him with the load. his offensive game has many holes in it away from the basket. he is not fluid looking. has a stiff outside shot. virtually no mid-range game. no step back or fade away or runner. seems like he worked on his 3 point shot over the off season but none of the things i mentioned. that is proving to his detriment and is the reason he is not on many draft boards. that said, he is still a vital cog on this team and i love him
I agree with all of this, but he's also allowed to work on it and change. As you said, any go-to move (turnaround, hook, up and under, etc...) could help him, as could just making his move decisively and more quickly when he gets the ball. He's very creative and great around the basket, but his moves are often very deliberate and slow to develop. The first part of getting him to change is calling it out to him. The other teams have adjusted, but we're also allowed to counter and part of that responsibility falls on our senior leader.
Conversely, I think our perimeter guys are not good at digging down. Our perimeter guys often take a step or 2 towards the other post when he has the ball, but I was always taught you attacked his dribble until he had to pick it up. We rarely do that. I wasn't guarding college shooters either, but to me I think our perimeter guys could help JM out more than they do when he's having to guard guys much bigger than he is.
1-7 vs. Ohio State
4-11 vs. Minnesota
3-14 vs. Purdue
3-12 vs Wisky
2-8 vs. MSU
This isn't pretty good. Do we need a Juwan apologist thread? This isn't 3's it is all his shots. If we win OSU and Purdue we are in the NCAA.
4-11 vs. Minnesota
3-14 vs. Purdue
3-12 vs Wisky
2-8 vs. MSU
This isn't pretty good. Do we need a Juwan apologist thread? This isn't 3's it is all his shots. If we win OSU and Purdue we are in the NCAA.
I was responding to your first sentence that he has been horrible the past 7 games. He led the team in rebounds, steals, blocks, and was 2nd in assists behind Phin. I don't have the time, to double check, but I am pretty sure it his best 7 game stretch when it comes to rebounds, steals, and blocks, in his career. Outside of scoring, Morgan, has played extremely well the past 7 games.
I never stated he has shot the ball well. I actually typed he has shot the ball poorly the last 7 games, specifically 3 pointers.. His 2P-FG% is 49% (23-47) and 3P-FG% is 16% (4-25). So, I disagree, he has been horrible and reiterate my initial post. He needs to quit shooting 3s and get back down low on the block.
You can measure those stats how you want them too look but his defense has been bad also. Yes, he is usually guarding bigger people and that is the coaches fault. He should be playing the 4 more. How can you say he should be down low more when he is double teamed down there and not finishing around the basket? He isn't making the shots against good teams as those percentages say. He has to start making outside shots like he did against ND and UC Davis. Making outside shots will get him in a better flow.
His defense Saturday in the first half was a joke. He got caught up on Winston too long on numerous occasions which led to dunks. The defense was changed in the 2nd half because he was so bad.
I think that he is still bothered by his left shoulder being injured on February 2nd at MSU (the same shoulder he popped out multiple times a couple years ago before having corrective surgery). Whatever decline in his play seems to have occurred since then. We know how tough he was a couple years ago, playing through multiple shoulder dislocations. So I think that he is again toughing it out with a left shoulder injury, but he is not going to publicly use that as an excuse.
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